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PE --> MBA
 

dietsunkist's picture
 
Points)
 on 2/21/12 at 12:08pm

Does being at a megafund/prestigious PE firm give you guaranteed acceptance to H/S/W...what's the word on this topic?

If not, what else does the adcom look for in this case?

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BepBep12's picture

Edit: I wasn't going to say

CF
 
Points)
 on 2/21/12 at 12:21pm

Edit: I wasn't going to say something nice, so I won't say it at all.

I'd look in the b-school forum here though for starters

'Before you enter... be willing to pay the price'

APAE's picture

Short answer, no it's no

(Neanderthal, 3,660
 
Points)
 on 2/21/12 at 12:35pm

Short answer, no it's no longer the near guarantee it used to be. Adcoms now are looking to broaden their student pool beyond the parameters of the blue-chip industries it used to exclusively represent. Whereas the vastly overwhelming bulk of matriculating students at HSW and the M7 schools used to be the elite finance or consulting crowd, now you're seeing a growing number of successful applicants from engineering, manufacturing, supply chain management, and general management make their way in, particularly at Harvard and Stanford.

A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.

DagwoodDeluxe's picture

A Posse is right - it is no

PE
 
Points)
 on 2/21/12 at 1:23pm

A Posse is right - it is no longer a guarantee. However, the odds of acceptance at HSW are still very high if you work at a megafund. For example, my friends at Bain Cap told me that of this year's second-year associate class, 8 of 9 applicants got into HSW (or something close to that - a little unclear because some didn't apply, etc.).

Now, keep in mind that these guys don't get accepted just because they worked at a megafund. To even get a job at a megafund, you likely graduated near the top of your class from a target school, worked at a top-tier investment bank or consulting firm, and have strong extracurricular/leadership experience. If you're that smart, you also likely have a high GMAT score. Those are the types of people that get into HSW whether they work at a megafund or not.

That said, it is obvious that working at a megafund increases your chances of admissions at HSW. The directors of admission at the top schools literally come visit the offices of the top PE funds to meet the 2nd year associates. The HR reps at the megafunds begin pitching their firms' associates to the admission committess months in advance, and are on the phone on a regular basis with the directors of admission during the application season. Many of the partners at megafunds are alumni of and big donors to the top programs; they will make calls or write letters as necessary to get guys in. The acceptance rates across most megafunds are too high for anyone to argue that these actions have no/little impact.

So, no, admission is not guaranteed. But it's pretty close.

Pike's picture

I think the only thing that

IB
 
Points)
 on 2/21/12 at 4:44pm

I think the only thing that doing megafund PE before MBA guarantees is an easier recruitment process to PE after your MBA. Not saying it guarantees a position, but its a lot easier when you've had previous experience.

Good is the enemy of Great

Ukon's picture

No. I have a friend from top

PE
(Orangutan, 370
 
Points)
 on 2/22/12 at 2:31am

No. I have a friend from top 10 undergrad, with exp in top 3 mgmt consulting and top 5 pre-MBA PE and was rejected by both Harvard and Stanford.

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